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CONTENTS . PAGE . Freemasonry in the North and Midlands ... ... ¦•••••53 The Craft in Trinidad ... ... ... ••••••532 Transactions for iSo 5-6 of the Lodge of Research , No . 2429 , Leicester ... 532 North American Statistics ... ... ... ... ••¦ 533 Provincial Grand Lodge of Cheshire ... ... ... ... 533

Provincial Grand Lodge of Durham ... ... ... ... 534 Provincial Grand Lodge of Warwickshire ... ... ... ... S 34 Provincial Grand Lodge of West Lancashire ... ... ... ... 535 Allied Masonic Degrees ... ... ... ... ... •¦•535 M ASONIC NOTESVisit of H . R . H . the Grand Master to Special Prov . Grand Lodge of Norfolk ,

and unveiling of a bust of Lord Suffield ... ... ... 541 Restoration of Canterbury Cathedral ... ... ... ... 54 1 Death of Lord Kensington , Prov . G . M . South Wales ( W . D . ) ... ... 54 ' Provincial Grand Lodge of Gloucestershire ... ... ... 541 Provincial Grand Lodge of South Wales ( E . D . ) ... ... ... 54 ' The Anti-Masonic Congress ... ... ... ... ... 541 Masonic Impostors ... ... ... .... ... ... 54 ' Correspondence ... ... ... _ ... ... ... 542

Royal Masonic Institution for Gms ( Quarterly Court ) ... ... ... 542 Royal Arch Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 542 Obituary ... ... •••... - ¦¦•••¦ 542 Provincial Grand Mark Lodge of Monmouthshire ... ... ... 542 The New Grand Master of Scotland ... ... ... ... 542 The Trocadero Restaurant ... ... ... ... ... 54 2 Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 543 Lodges and Chapter of Instruction ... ... ... ... 546 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... ... 543

Freemasonry In The North And Midlands

FREEMASONRY IN THE NORTH AND MIDLANDS

As many as four Provincial Grand Lodges situated 111 the northern and midland districts of England held their annual meetings last week ; that of Durham , which took place at Hartlepool on Tuesday , the 29 th ult ., having precedence in point

of time . At this gathering Bro . Sir HEDWORTH WILLIAMSON , Bart ., Prov . Grand Master , presided in person , and , as usual , there was a very full attendance both of Prov . Grand Officers

and the representatives of private lodges . The reports were eminentl y satisfactory , and the grants made on the recommendation of the Charity Fund of the Committee to the Central Masonic Institutions most liberal . The address of the Prov .

Grand Master was brief , the most important matter he referred to being the proposal which had emanated from sundry of the leading brethren in the Province to recognise in a substantial and suitable manner the long and able services rendered to the

Province by the Prov . Grand Secretary , Bro . ROBERT HLDSON A suggestion had been thrown out that this could best be done b y making a fresh grant , which should in due course be named after the Prov . Grand Secretary , to the Durham Masonic

Educational Fund , and this received the warm approval of the Prov , Grand Master , who expressed the hope , in which we most cordiall y unite , that the proposal would meet with the support it merited . Bro . HUDSON has done good suit and service in his

secretarial capacity , and the proposed testimonial will reflect crtdit both on the brother who receives if and the Province which raises it . ( •hi Wednesday , the 30 th ult ., two meetings were held , that

of the Provincial Grand Lodge of West Lancashire , in War-C'ngfon , and that of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Cheshire , m Macclesfield . As regards the former , the Prov . Grand Master , " ° the Earl of LATHOM , Pro Grand . Master of England ,

pre-1 ( lc < l , and the proceedings throughout were of the mo . st gratifying wracter . The Prov . Grand Treasurer ' s report for the past year ¦ lowed that the receipts in respect of the three Funds—the J-nanties' Fund , the Prov . Grand Lodge Fund , and the Fund of

j ene volcnce—amounted in the aggregate to ^ 1673 , and the expen-. ' to £ 948 , the balance remaining in hand at the close of the ' COu « t being £ 725 7 s . The statistical returns were equally satisc or Vi there being 114 lodges on the roll of the Province , with an "B ^ gate subscribing membership of 7533 . But the most note-

Freemasonry In The North And Midlands

worthy feature in the Prov . . Grand Secretary ' s report , and the one on which he very naturally laid the greatest stress , had reference to the Provincial Charitable Institutions . We have so often referred to the admirable work which these local Charities

have been doing for the past few years , that we need not follow Bro . GoonACRE through all the particulars he furnished . Suffice it to say , that the income of the Educational Fund , which is far and away the senior of the Lancashire Institutions , exceeded

that of the preceding year b y £ 346 , and that the number of children it is aiding at a cost of £ 1473 is 206 . The income of the Hamer Institution showed an increase of nearly £ 80 , while the claims upon its resources were slio-htl y less . As

for the Alpass Institution , its income was o-reater bv £ 220 than the previous year , while the amount disbursed in annuities was ^ , ' 68 9 as compared with £ 520 . Well mav West Lancashire be proud ol" its local Charities , when its lodges and

brethren subscribe to them so liberally , and are able by this means to render such valuable assistance to the young and ao-ed belongings of the Craft . We must not take leave of this Province without mentioning the fact that the Prov . Grand Master

who is greatly respected and beloved , not onl y throughout his own Province , but generally by the whole English Craft , had the satisfaction of being supported at the meeting by two of his sons , Bro . Lord' SKELMERSDAI . E , P . G . W . of England , Prov . S . G . W .

and the Hon . REGINALD BOOTLE-WILBRAHAM , of the Isaac Newton University Lodge , No . 8 59 , Cambridge , who not Ionoprevious had been raised to the Degree of a M . M . As regards Cheshire , Prov . Grand Lodge was presided over by the Deputy

P . G . Master , his Honour Bro . Sir HORATIO LLOYD , P . G . D ., Lord EGERTON OE TATTON being absent b y reason of the effects of his recent carriage accident . This absence is all the more to be regretted as his lordship would have been pleased beyond

measure at the very gratif ying reports handed in by the chief executive officers . The report of the Provincial Committee of Benevolence showed that the past year had been a very successful one , the Festival which had been held in aid of the Educational and Benevolent Institutions

established by the Province having yielded close upon £ 1200 . It was noted also by the Deputy P . G . Master in his address that there had been a steady increase in the number ol subscribing Masons in Cheshire during the past live years from 18 56 in 18 91

to 2275 in 18 95 . Before the meeting closed , a resolution of regret at the unavoidable absence of the Prov . G . Master and of hope that he might be speedily restored to his usual health was passed by acclamation .

The Prov . Grand Lodge of Warwickshire met at Atherstone on Thursday , the 1 st instant , and here again the chair was occupied by the Deputy P . G , Master—Bro . T . J . COLLINS , P . G S . B . England—in the unavoidable absence of the respected Bro

Lord LEIGH , Prov . G . Master . In this case also the returns , both statistical and financial , were very satisfactory , and it only needed that Lord LEIGH should have been able to preside in person in order to render the meeting a complete success .

It may not be out of place to add that the Provinces to whose annual meetings we have referred contain in all not far ¦ short of 230 lodges , whose subscribing members number together upwards of 14 , 000 brethren . These are big figures , and if

these Provinces may be taken as a fair evidence of the condition of the Craft in the country districts , it is clear that our Provincial Masonry is exceedingly prosperous , far more so perhaps , than is generall y imagined ,